Adventures in Gunder-Land

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Our little firecracker is 3...party time!

Most people that know me well know that I love to host parties. Sometimes I tend to go a little over board! This year I think I was pretty tame for Aiden's 3rd birthday party. We have had such a busy summer and the month leading up to Aiden's party was a rough one for many reasons! But we managed to pull it off!!! In honor of our new "Made in America" home we decided to do a patriotic themed birthday party. I definitely think Aiden is the "all American boy" but the truth is, I picked a theme that was easy and required minimal creativity on my part. Being extremely tired and sick didn't help my planning and creativity so I was lazy with my theme this year! As usual, I say that I am going to go small but once you start inviting people it is really hard to stop. I know that I left some people out but I had to stop myself somewhere short of placing an announcement in the local paper! Overall we had an absolute blast! Thank you to everyone who came out and helped us celebrate our little firecrackers 3rd Birthday and a special THANK YOU to Nana and Pops for dropping everything at the last minute to take care of me and Aiden when I was down for the count a few days before Aiden's party! Here is a look at Aiden's big day!

Still can't believe my BABY is 3!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Blessed...

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

3 Years of Aiden

On Saturday my sweet baby boy turned 3 years old! Oh how the time flies! Here is what 3 looks like for my baby boy!

Stats:
28lbs
Size clothing 2 T
Shoe size: 8 (should be 7.5 but they don't make 1/2 sizes for toddlers)
Favorite Movie: Toy Story 3
Favorite Food: Strawberries, grapes and salads (just like your momma)
Some notable quotes:
"I love you so much in the whole wide world"
"Mommy, I growed up last night in my bed"
"Thank you for making me healthy food so I don't get sick"
Nicknames: Mr. A

To my Sweet Aiden,
Nothing could have prepared me for life as your Mommy. I am not sure what I did to deserve the gift of you, but I know without any hesitation that I was blessed beyond measure! You are, without a doubt, the sweetest, most compassionate, loving little boy! People always tell me how special you are, and although I already know it, it is nice to know that they see it too!
Over the past 3 years, you have been such a trooper. Your adaptable personality amazes your daddy and I everyday. Most 3 year olds see the same friends and family everyday. You, my love, have moved 4 times in 3 years. We've lived in Virginia Beach, Maryland, Rhode Island, and now Chesapeake. You didn't miss a beat when we moved into a hotel room for 10 weeks, put you into school for the first time, and started potty training you all at the same time! We moved from MD to Rhode Island 2 weeks before Christmas and by Christmas morning it was like you had lived there forever! In 3 years you have been to MD, VA, RI, SC, NJ, NY, FL, NC, MA, and Mexico. You have been on more plane rides than some adults, taken more long distance car rides than I want to admit, stayed in too many hotels to count and thrived in each and every situation. We have had the best time just being lucky enough to watch you grow and learn! So many people warned me about the terrible two's...I can't think of one terrible thing about 2 year old you. Trust me, you had a few meltdowns, tested my patience, and thought you were the boss a few times. But guess who won :-) I honestly can't even think of 2 whole days in a row where I thought you were in a mood or possibly approaching terrible! Thank you for that!!!
I am looking forward to the 3 year old you! I really can't even imagine what is in store for us...but whatever it is, I have no doubt that you will handle it in the same fashion you have every other situation. With lots of questions and lots of fun!
Although it may sound silly to you...and probably to most...but THANK YOU for making me a Mommy! You are my first...and no one can ever take that away from you! You blessed me with the title of Mommy and it is a responsibility that I take very seriously! It is BY FAR the greatest role that I have ever or will ever have...there is no job, pay check, title, or career goal that could give me the satisfaction of knowing that I created such a precious boy! Trust me, I have reached for the stars but my love for you has sent me to the moon and back! I have accomplished a lot but nothing compares to the sense of pride and accomplishment that I feel as your Mommy! "I love you so much in the whole wide world" Thank you for just being you...sweet, loving, adorable, compassionate,empathetic, respectful and delightful YOU!!!!
Love Always
Mommy

Friday, August 31, 2012

Tomorrow

3 years ago...

The above picture was taken 3 years ago right before we headed to the hospital to have our sweet Aiden! I remember being pregnant and thinking about what the future was going to be like once our little boy arrived. I specifically remember trying to picture him as a little boy, running and playing! I wondered what his voice would sound like and how he would adapt to the constant change in our life! When I first heard his little cry, I don't think I have ever smiled so big and cried so hard all at the same time!!! Seeing him and holding him for the first time, I THOUGHT he was the greatest gift that I could have ever received and boy was I right! I don't think that my heart and soul were prepared for the feelings that I have for my boy!

Tomorrow, September 1st, our precious boy turns 3! Although I am beyond proud of the little boy he has become, I am also a little sad! Where has the time gone? Really??? Every year (so what if he is only 2) Leif and I wake up at his exact birth time, 2:35 a.m., and we sing him Happy Birthday! He is asleep and could probably care less but it is a fun little tradition that we started and I really enjoy it! The next 2 years will be hard. Leif has duty tonight and will miss our little celebration and next year he will be deployed! These past 3 years have been so magical that I just hate for him to miss anything but, trust me, with the amount of pictures I take, Leif will be thoroughly updated! Despite what is to come, this weekend (and next weekend too) we will celebrate the first 3 years of our precious boys life!

5 days

1 year

2 years

3 years

Every night before Leif and I go to bed, we end our night by saying something about Aiden. It usually goes something like "Aiden is so cute when he..." It isn't intentional but it just happens! We know we are blessed and we do not hesitate to say it! I feel like the past 3 years have flown by...but boy have we crammed in a lot of fun! More on that in Aiden's special birthday post...HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY!!!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Duty Days...

One of the (many) dreaded aspects of sea tours, aside from deployment and looooong hours, are duty days. For those that aren't familiar, a duty day is basically a 24 hour shift at work. Think of it this way, the military never "closes", it is not a 9-5 establishment and therefore it is not a 9-5 career. Right now Leif has duty once a week. Of course it has fallen on a weekend for the past 2 weeks, so Aiden and I have made the most of it by taking Daddy dinner on "his ship". Aiden and I are still adjusting to not seeing very much of Daddy so it was incredibly exciting for Aiden to see where Daddy goes everyday. My sweet boy has been so worried about his Daddy. "Where does Daddy sleep on the ship?" "Does Daddy get to eat on the ship?" It seems like Daddy is missing so much right now so I was really anxious for Aiden to see just how important Daddy's job was.
Visiting Daddy for the first time...Aiden's very first visit to a war ship outside of my belly...

Quarterdeck photo

Daddy's picture...

Top Bunk...

Daddy giving Aiden a bullet shell!

In the CO's chair...

With the big 5 inch gun!

Hard at work...

Wearing Daddy's "radio"

Checking out the vertical launching system!

Aiden LOVES visiting Daddy's ship. While Daddy was giving him a tour he said "WOW this is so cool" and when the tour was over he started to cry and said "But Daddy, I want to see everything". I am so thankful that Leif isn't deployed right now. I think that these visits to the ship will help Aiden "imagine" where Daddy is when he does deploy!
I think the cutest thing that Aiden has done so far is his adorable little salute. The guard at the gate salutes me as I drive in and now Aiden has started saluting him back and saluting Daddy when he meets us at the truck...I have yet to get a picture of that...oh well, there is always next weeks duty day!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

I'm baaaack...

OK...I'm back for today but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Things have been crazy here for us but crazy good! We are in our beautiful new home and pretty much settled! Leif is CRAZY busy at work but Mommy and Aiden knew it was coming and we have prepared for the next few years of craziness! We are slowly gearing up for a possible earlier than expected deployment and I am completely dreading it (who wouldn't be). Leif is out to Sea this week and will continue to be gone a lot until December and as parents we are trying to figure out how to cope with a little boy who loves and misses his daddy like crazy. Here's a sweet story for the memory books...

Leif was putting Aiden to bed a few days prior to leaving and he was explaining that "Daddy had to go out to Sea"...Aiden asked a lot of "why's?"
"Daddy has to go out to Sea and he won't be coming home for a week"
WHY?
"Because Daddy works on a warship for the United States Navy and sometimes we have to go out to Sea and work"
WHY?
"Because Daddy is in the Navy and it is our job to be on our warship and protect America"
Aiden reached up, grabbed Leif around the neck, gave him a big hug and said "Thank you Daddy, I love you"

When Leif came down to tell me this I thought we were both going to bust into tears...you can't make that kind of stuff up!!!!
I am so proud of my husband for how hard he works...but I am even more proud of my almost 3 year old for displaying appreciation even when it means he has to sacrifice time with his Daddy!!!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The "Made in America"

So much has happened since the last time that I blogged that it is really hard to decide where I should resume. A lot of people have sent emails asking about how I am feeling since my surgery. I promise to blog about my health next (I am feeling great by the way) but to be honest blogging about our housing adventures is much more exciting. This weekend we took another trip to Hampton Roads to look for a home. I arrived on Thursday to begin the hunt and Leif arrived late Friday to see my selections. We have always wanted to live in a tight knit community often known as "Front Porch Living". The idea is that rather than hanging out in your back yard you hang out on your front porch and build relationships with your neighbors. Our Realtor told us about Culpepper Landing, a great neighborhood in Chesapeake, VA that seemed to be what we were looking for. On our last trip we fell in love with a southern style home in the same amazing community but it was still under construction so we wanted to wait and see it finished. Once we arrived to see the home we were directed to another home which was being constructed for the Homearama. What is Homearama? Homearama is a 16-day single-site display of fully furnished and fully landscaped custom showcase homes
that demonstrate the latest in home construction, design, furnishings and technological innovations. It is expected to attract 100,000 visitors throughout the event. This years theme is The All American Homearama. One of the homes was being built using only American made products. We thought that was pretty cool but never in a million years did we expect to buy that house. Well guess what??? We bought the Made in America house! ( I guess I should say "we are buying", we close in July) Here she is...

As much as I would love to say that the decision was easy, it really wasn't. I went back and forth between this house and the original house we found back in March. Leif didn't sweat it like I did. The truth is, I LOVED both houses. I knew I would be happy with either one and I think that made my decision even harder. There was no cut and dry choice for me. It was truly a unique situation. How often do you have 4 days to find your perfect house, you find not 1 but 2 houses you love, they are in the same neighborhood, built by the same person, basically the same price and to top it off they are on the same street!!! Leif left it up to me...how sweet of him...and after about 18 hours of "thinking" at 9:30 on Saturday morning while standing in line at Starbucks Leif said "make a decision right now" and I did! The biggest deciding factor for me was the pride in owning The Made in America. Knowing that every single item that constructed your home was Made in America is most likely a once in a lifetime opportunity...this is the only home of it's kind on the East Coast and 1 of only a handful in the whole Country. The wood, wires, nails, drywall, tiles, harware, light fixtures etc...ALL Made in America!!! Pretty Cool...Here are some pictures of the house right now. Homearama is in 3 weeks so the house will be finished before then! The builder is going to send me a virtual tour before the judging begins so we are very anxious to see the finished product.